Programme controller for washing machines and the like



1965 e. LEUENBERGER 3,

PROGRAMME CONTROLLER FOR WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed June 25, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1 Z 4& 7 IN VENTOR Gottfried Leuenberyer ATTORNEYS Dec. 21, 1965 G. LEUENBERGER 3,224,288

PROGRAMME CONTROLLER FOR WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed June 25, 1963 2 Sh -S 2 [59.3 eets heet INVENTOR Gottfried Leumbeyer ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,224,288 PROGRAMME CONTROLLER FOR WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Gottfried Leuenberger, Schlieren, Zurich, Switzerland, assignor to Maschinenfabrik Ad. Schulthess & Co. AG, Zurich, Switzerland Filed June 25, 1963, Ser. No. 290,492 3 Claims. (Cl. 74405) Controllers are known which comprise perforated cards or tapes for performing certain operations. Such cards and tapes continually move in a straight line in a definite direction. The perforations are circular holes or elongated slots extending in the longitudinal direction of the cards or tapes.

The subject matter of my present invention is a con troller, in particular for washing machines and the like, for which makes possible a control unit known per se and actuable according to a fixed programme. In contradistinction to known control units, the present controller has a series of practical and functional advantages among which may be mentioned the advantage that upon actuation of the switch the driving motor may be engaged directly to the card for the purpose of moving same, and the further advantage that the perforated card may be turned by fine adjustment after corresponding actuation of the switch.

The programme controller according to the invention is distinguished by the fact that the perforated-card disc which rotates about its own axis and is provided with the control perforations comprises on a surface of revolution a toothed portion that forms the rotated base body of a gearing unit which connects the axes of the perforatedcard disc and of the drive motor.

One form of the invention is shown, in the drawing, in which- FIG. 1 is a top plan view in which the partially interrupted,

FIG. 2 shows a partial section on the line IIII of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a bottom been engaged, and

FIG. 4 is a partial view of FIG. 3, the drive motor having been disengaged.

In the controller shown the perforated card which comprises the control-commands in the form of circularly arched slots 7, is a circular rotatable disc 1 of metal or plastic which on its circumferential face comprises external teeth 2 forming a spur gear. The punched-card disc at the same time forms the base body of a gearing unit of constant ratio. The disc 1 by means of a central axle 3 is rotatably mounted in a flat housing 4 that comprises a base plate 4b and a cover plate 4a screwed thereto. To the axle 3 of disc 1 is secured, spaced from cover plate 4a, a plexiglas-disc 6 provided with marks 5. To the transparent disc 6 is associated a circular programme card 6a which is secured to cover plate 4a and carries a time scale with the references and informations referring to the operational programme.

Switch elements 8 of the package of switches which comprises several single switches, are controlled by the slots 7 of disc 1. The various single switches are connected by cables to the different electric switching elements, drive motors, electromagnetic valves and relays of the washing machine, and are controlled upon rotation of disc 1 by the associated single switches according to an operational programme determined by the arrangement of the slots 7. Disc 1 is driven by a pinion 29 secured to the axle of an electric motor 13, which pinion meshes with the external teeth 2 of disc 1 and which is engageable and disengageable. To such end motor 13 (FIG. 3) is secured by way of example,

housing cover is plan View, the drive motor having to a carrier plate which on about an axle 32. 30 is limited by a 3 plate 30.

In one terminal position, FIG. 3, of carrier plate 30, pinion 29 of motor 13 meshes with the external teeth 2 of punched-card disc 1, While in the other terminal position of plate 30 pinion 29 is disengaged. By means of a tension spring 35 that engages plate 30 and is anchored to bearing plate 31, carrier plate 30 is pulled into its engaged position shown in FIG. 3. In such position, a key cam 36 of an arm of plate 30 that extends in the opposite direction with respect to pivot 32, is engaged in a recess 37 of a slider 38. Slider 38 is guided in a U-shaped part 31a of plate 31 and is actuable by two push-button keys 39 and 40. The latter are secured to bars 39a, 40a which are guided in suitable slots or cut-outs of plate 31 and in guide eyes 41a of a guide member 41 fixed to plate 31.

The key bars 39a, 40a act through key flanks 42 in recesses 43 on to slider 38 so that when actuating either push-button key, slider 38 is moved in one or the other direction. In the position of the unit shown in FIG. 2, the depressed key 39 is raised to its neutral position by releasing same, a balance 45 pivotable on an axle pin 44 pushing upwardly the key bar 39a under the section of a tension spring 46.

In the position of slider 38 shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, plate 30 with motor 13 is in the disengaged position in which it is blocked by slider 38 abutting against the end of cam 36 (FIG. 4). By depressing key 40, slider 38 under the action of key flank 42 of key bar 40a is moved in direction of the arrow a in FIG. 2. Thereby cam 36 is disengaged from its blocking abutment and drops by the action of spring 35 into recess 37 of slider 38, while plate 30 is angularly moving. Through such movement of plate 30, pinion 29 of motor 13 is engaged to the external teeth 2 of disc 1, as shown in FIG. 3. With the teeth 2 of disc 1 is continually meshing a pinion 47 which is provided with a selector knob 48. The latter permits, with the motor disengaged as in FIG. 4, a readjustment of disc 1 for the purpose of an arbitrary setting of programme phases.

The keys 39, 40 are of different colors; preferably key 39 which serves for disengaging motor 13, is red, and key 40 white. By depressing the red key 39, disc 1 is released for selecting setting by knob 48. Having set disc 1 to a desired adjustment or repetition of certain operating phases of the machine, key 40 is depressed whereby the drive of disc 1 through motor 13 is re-established.

The teeth 2 instead of on the peripheral face could be disposed, for example, on a surface of revolution formed by stepping and staggered with respect to said peripheral face. The gearing teeth may have some other suitable form different from the one shown.

In the programme controller disclosed by the present invention, punched-card disc 1 constitutes at the same time the base body of the gearing unit formed by the members 2, 29 and having a constant ratio. Said gearing unit interconnects the adjacent axles 3 and 15 of disc 1 and of motor 13. The construction thereby is substantially simplified and, further, is not susceptible to trouble in continuous service even when inappropriately operated.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a now preferred example and embodiment of the invention it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A programmed control device for automatic domestic washing machines and the like, said device comprising a perforated control disc, means supportingsaid disc for rotation about a' central axis, gear teeth formed in the outer edge of said disc, motor drive means, a first pinion gear driven by said motor drive means, a pivoted carrier supportingsaid motor drive means and said pinion gear and having two stable positions such that said pinion gear engages said gear teeth on said discto drive said disc in a first poition and said pinion gear is disengaged from said gear teeth to release said disc in the second position, manually operable meansfor selectively pivoting said carrier to said-first and second positions while said drive motor is operating, and manually operable means for rotating said disc to a desired position'when said first pinion is disengaged from said disc and said disc'is free.

2. The device defined in claim 1 wherein said manually operable means for setting said perforated disc comprises a second pinion gear, a shaft on which said second pinion gear is mounted for rotation in engagement with the gear teeth of said disc, and a knob attached to said shaft by which said shaft, said pinion and said disc may be rotated-when said first pinion is in said second position.

3. The-device defined in claim 2 in which said selective pivoting means for said carrier comprises a centrally pivoted lever, a first push button mounted on a slidable shaft arranged to' depress one end'of said lever when said first 4 pushbutton is depressed, a second push button mounted on a slidable shaft arranged to depress the other end of said lever when said second pushbutton is depressed, a

I sliding cam driven by said lever to a first position when said one end of said lever is depressed and to a second position when the other end'of"said lever is depressed, and cam follower means on said carrier driven by said sliding cam to place said carrier in said first position wherein said first pinion drives said disc when said first push button is depressed and in said second position to disengage said first pinion from said-disc gear teeth when said second push button is depressed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 635,446 10/1899 Moskowitz 74242.13 X 1,775,445 9/1930 Trester- 743.54 2,055,031 9/ 1936 Hutchings 200-38.3 2,842,627 7/1958 Wagner 200-38.3 2,877,317 3/1959 Euler et'al 20038.3 X 2,917,947 12/1959 Belezos 74-242.13 2,927,479 3/ 1960 Pritz 74-405 X 2,973,659 3/ 1961 Gallagher et a1 74-405 2,978,923 4/1961 Carlson 74354 X 3,007,094 10/1961 Vanderberg 74-337.5 X 3,098,131 7/ 1963 Gallagher et'al 743.54 X

DON A. WAITE, Primary Examiner 

1. A PROGRAMMED CONTROL DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC DOMESTIC WASHING MACHINES AND THE LIKE, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A PERFORATED CONTROL DISC, MEANS SUPPORTING SAID DISC FOR ROTATION ABOUT A CENTRAL AXIS, GEAR TEETH FORMED IN THE OUTER EDGE OF SAID DISC, MOTOR DRIVE MEANS, A FIRST PINION GEAR DRIVEN BY SAID MOTOR DRIVE MEANS, A PIVOTED CARRIER SUPPORTING SAID MOTOR DRIVE MEANS AND SAID PINION GEAR AND HAVING TWO STABLE POSITIONS SUCH THAT PINION GEAR ENGAGES SAID GEAR TEETH ON SAID DISC TO DRIVE SAID DISC IN A FIRST PORTION AND SAID PINION GEAR IS DISENGAGED FROM SAID GEAR TEETH TO RELEASE SAID DISC IN THE SECOND POSITION, MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY PIVOTING SAID CARRIER TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND POSITIONS WHILE SAID DRIVE MOTOR IS OPERATING, AND MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID DISC TO A DESIRED POSITION WHEN SAID FIRST PINION IS DISENGAGED FROM SAID DISC AND SAID DISC IS FREE. 